


Wolves Among Us

by zaynedere



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, M/M, Rating May Change, Slow Burn, Werewolves, lowkey a little twilight-y, rewrite of a previous fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-08
Updated: 2019-05-08
Packaged: 2020-02-28 10:56:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18755047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zaynedere/pseuds/zaynedere
Summary: Before you ask him: No. He has no idea what the hell he’s gonna do with a giant, injured wolf in his garage, but he’ll be damned if he couldn’t at least offer it some aid.





	Wolves Among Us

**Author's Note:**

> Rewrite of my previous fic "A Man and His Wolf"  
> you're welcome to go read it, but its really, really bad  
> this rewrite is an attempt to save it

Shovelling two feet of snow was not how Keith wanted to spend his last hour at work, but it needed to get done before the opening cashier got there. The ground had been just fine when he'd arrived nearly eight hours ago, slushy at the worst, but it seemed like the near constant overcast clouds above their pathetically tiny city decided to finally shit all over them. 

 

Huffing and shoving at the tip of the shovel to break up some ice, he almost considers bumming the job to one of the new kids, but then he remembers its Tuesday, and the only nice old lady in town was coming to do her weekly shopping. Keith couldn't let her down with a shoddy shovelling job, could he? 

 

The answer was no, he couldn't. 

 

Getting the parking lot and sidewalks in front of the store cleared and salted brought him past his designated leave time, but he'd be damned if he didn't do a fucking fantastic job. His feet may be numb from the cold, but at least Miss Roberts will be able to traverse safely to and from the front of the store; the fifteen feet between her car and the doors could be especially treacherous during the winter. 

 

Clocking out and grabbing his usual from the store (a pack of smokes and a pre-made sandwich), he ventured out to his shoddy truck and hunkered down, getting the vehicle warmed up and all but inhaling the sandwich. Days like this almost made him miss the warm desert sun in Arizona. Sometimes he even missed the sunburns and excessive sweating, but those days were now few and far between. 

 

Moving to this quaint town in Washington when he was legally able to had been the best decision Keith had made in his twenty one and a half years of life. The town was big enough that truckers and road-trippers would stop at the gas station or the single McDonalds they had, but small enough to keep the hotel relatively empty at all times of the year. The faces he saw at the gas station and local restaurants were all the same, and have been for years; occasionally they'd hire on an eager teenager who would quickly realize the adult life is anything but glamorous, but the initial excitement was always a nice change. 

 

He loved living there for many reasons, but the main one was that no one asked why he picked their city out of anywhere in the world, or why he lived so far out of the town. Everyone mainly stuck to themselves or gossiped about who married who or which dumbass high schooler did what. Yeah, he had a few people he occasionally went out for drinks with, and Miss Roberts always had him over for holiday dinners, but that was it. And Keith absolutely loved it. 

 

Chewing on the last of his sandwich, he put his truck into drive and crossed his fingers that his beloved scrap heap of a vehicle would make it home. It was old and rattled far more than it should, but it did the job when the roads weren't suitable for his bike. He  _ knows  _ he should just bite the bullet and shell out some of his savings for something that won't rattle to the point he can't have drinks in it, but what’s the point in getting something new when this one still works?

 

Ms. Roberts always pointed out the flaws in his logic, but Keith will always choose to ignore her knowledge until his truck is being torn apart for scraps. 

 

Despite the heavy snow lining the roads, his truck made it another day and got him home safely; only a minor slide when he turned into his lengthy driveway, but he could handle that without deeming his truck ‘not safe for roads’, or NSFR as Ms. Roberts lovingly deems it. 

 

Clicking a button opens his garage door, and he drives in, watching his headlights reflect off of the white wall in front of him before they shut off, along with the truck. Hopping out, he stood at the line between warmth and frozen hell, breaking open his new pack of cigarettes and lighting one up with practiced ease. 

 

As Keith considered what he should do with the rest of the day (caught between shovelling snow and lazing around for the rest of his measly day), he realized that he has another being to take care of, and made his way to the garages interior door and let out his unbearably large wolf-dog. He can already hear Kosmo’s excited panting, and made sure to brace himself as he pushes open the door. Immediately, there’s almost two hundred pounds of dog trying to barrel him down for slimey licks before Keith calms him enough for his dog to get the memo and dash out into the snow, doing his business before galloping and rolling in the powder. 

 

As usual, Keith rolls his eyes with a bemused smile and works on finishing his cancer stick while Kosmo snorts into the snow and fools himself into thinking he’s chasing something. While his dog digs around for one of the many tennis balls left out there, Keith pulls out his phone and idly scrolls through a random social media app, checking to see if anything newsworthy has happened in the last few hours. As per usual, there's nothing particularly eye catching on there, and he goes back to looking at Kosmo. 

 

Wait, where the fuck did his dog go? 

 

Keith sighs softly, trudging out into the building snow to follow his dogs prints towards the back of the house. Kosmo was a vocal dog; he seemed to  _ always _ want his human to go to where he is or give him his much deserved attention, and made sure to make Keith very aware of his needs through howling, yipping, and his favorite: back talking. They argued frequently; sometimes over a bath, other times over the bed. The current dilemma though, was that Kosmo was silent. He couldn't hear any playful growls or barks for attention.

  
  


Taking another drag from his cigarette, he continues to follow the path of large paw prints until he found Kosmo. And of fucking course, his wonderful, perfect puppy was staring down a larger, more aggressive and bloody looking puppy. Big puppy. Very big. While Kosmo was nearing Keith’s height, this new wolf looks almost twice as big as his dog. Quickly, Keith whistled twice; Kosmo’s command for heel. While mister big and bloody looks over at the dumb human, Kosmo retreats behind his dumb human, ready to defend at a moments notice. What a good boy. 

 

Now to deal with the wolf. It didn’t look angry persay; there wasn’t any bared teeth or rumbling growls or anything. The canine was mostly white, with flecks of black mixed into his fur, and from here he could tell there was a long scar across his snout. And still, it was silent, staring. Keith wasn’t sure if he preferred a big growling wolf, but honestly, at least then he’d  _ know  _ that the thing was angry; right now he wasn’t sure what to think. Slowly, oh so slowly, the wolf walked forward, causing Keith to try and walk backwards. Which of course fails, and he falls flat on his ass next to Kosmo.

 

Now, he can hear his own panicked breaths as the wolf drew closer, the canine’s breaths heavier and slower save for a small hitch at the end.  _ You gotta calm down,  _ Keith tells himself,  _ this thing might not stay so calm for much longer.  _ But the wolf just kept getting closer, and closer, until he was right in Keith’s face, breathing heavily onto the humans face for a moment before huffing and licking his cheek and whimpering. 

 

_ What the fuck is going on? What the actual  _ fuck  _ is going on? _

 

Tentatively, Keith reaches out to pet behind one of the wolf's ears, much like he would Kosmo, and of course, the heavy dog leans into it and his ears perk up a bit. Ok. So- He’s got a friendly wolf standing in front of him, who also happens to be bleeding from various wounds on his body. What Keith  _ should _ do is ring the wildlife people up the road and have them deal with it. That would be the smart thing to do. But does Keith always make smart decisions? No, most of the time he prefers to follow impulse, like right now, where he’s slowly standing and walking backwards towards his front door, leading the wolf to his garage. 

 

Before you ask him: No. He has no idea what the hell he’s gonna do with a giant, injured wolf in his garage, but he’ll be damned if he couldn’t at least offer it  _ some  _ aid. After getting the big guy to lay down by patting the floor gently, he rushed into the house and scrambled for his first aid kit and a piece of leftover chicken for the wolf to snack on while Keith tended to him. The wolf oh so gently takes the meat from Keith’s hand, then chews on it and pulls it apart easily- god, why is this wolf so fucking  _ weird _ . 

 

Huffing, Keith got to work locating and cleaning the wounds he could find; most weren’t serious, just grazes that managed to draw blood, so he poured some saline solution on then rinsed with some water, since he really didn’t know what was safe for wolves. Easy enough; he’s admittedly cleaned up worse on himself. Now that he was up close though, he noticed how scarred up the wolf is, especially the front right leg. Keith didn't dare touch it- he was already lucky he hadn't been mauled.

 

_ Where did this wolf come from? What has he been through? _

 

Now he needed to figure out what to do with this giant, friendly wolf. Does he try and nudge it out? Let him stay? There isn’t exactly a handbook on taking care of injured, full blooded wolves- at least he didn’t think there was. 

 

Cautiously, he sat down and pet at the ears of his patient; he seemed to like that, and laid his giant head in Keith’s lap, closing his eyes and resting. He  _ should  _ give a call to the wildlife rescue soon and let them know whats up, probably see if they’ll come collect this massive boy, but… A quick peek outside said the roads are gonna be bad, and he didn’t want to risk them coming out before the plows got to the ice covered hell paths. 

 

With a heaving sigh, he decides to let the wolf stay in his garage for the night; pile some blankets on top of him, give him some extra meat or something, just until the morning. 

 

\--------

 

After tending to the wolf and making a note to call the wildlife rescue in the morning, Keith set about cleaning his small house, which mainly consisted of a few dishes, sweeping, and de-furring the house due to Kosmo’s constant shedding. It’s currently in a lull due to his dog hoarding it during the winter, but as soon as spring hits and its all wet weather, he is going to make  _ another  _ dog from the hair he collects from a simple brushing. 

 

Once the house is sufficiently de-furred and clean, Keith goes about making some dinner for himself, as well as the two wolves in his current possession. He’s had a few steaks tucked in the back of the freezer for special occasions, and he supposes harboring a wild animal in his garage was special enough for steaks. They’re already seasoned; he makes sure to do that before tossing them in his fridge or freezer, just to make it easier for his lazy, future self. 

 

When he’s pan seared the steaks, and effectively smoked himself out of his own home, he sits on the ground in the garage and eats with the other two occupying his home. They gratefully dig into their own steaks, happily munching on their treats while Keith feels at least a  _ little _ civilized since he’s using a knife and fork. It’s about as civilized as he’s gonna get, seeing as he’s chowing down on some steak with his half wolf dog and a wild wolf that he's half adopted for the night.

 

As he pets both of the giant furry heads on either side of him, Keith realizes that he’s honestly living the dream. Living outside of town, in his own home, with no debts and two giant wolves to pet and snuggle up with, and they all have bellies full of good food. Definitely living the life. 

 

While he’s enjoyed this little cuddle session with the boys, its nearing bedtime and Keith had a hot date with his shower. So, he got up and gathered a few more blankets, piling them on the wolf so he doesn't get too cold, then went back in and hopped in the shower. Afterwards, he stepped outside for one last smoke before bed, letting Kosmo do his own thing before they retired for the evening. He checked on the wolf he was harboring before he went to bed, watching the slow rise and fall of the pile of blankets before finally deciding he needed to get some sleep too. 

 

\------

 

There were few mornings that he could wake up without an alarm, and usually consisted of him being lazy and sleeping in until noon (save for letting Kosmo out in the morning, but to be honest, he isn't sure if he's ever fully awake for that). Today though, Keith was woken up by the sound of glass breaking on the other side of his home. 

 

Jolting awake, he looks around his room and at the door, seeing if maybe Kosmo just managed to open the door and break something. Unfortunately, his dog stood at the door, nose shoved against the crack and ears pointed forward. 

 

Rolling out of bed, he slips on the nearest pair of boots and grabs the blade off of his nightstand. Keith took his place next to Kosmo at the door, took a deep breath, then slowly opened the door. Peering out into the hallway, it was all clear, but now he could hear someone's frustrated mumbling in the kitchen. 

 

Keith walked out slowly, putting his free hand behind his back and feeling a little more at ease with Kosmo patiently following him out. They were both pressed against the wall, right where the kitchen tile began but still out of sight. Peering around the corner, Keith was stunned enough to almost drop his knife. 

 

A giant, basically  _ naked _ man stood in the middle of his kitchen, using some of Keith's blankets to keep decent. His hair had a little white tuft in the front, and a long scar ran from one cheek to the next, crossing over the chiseled nose of the man. There was glass everywhere on the floor- it looks like he broke one of Keith's clear glass cups. 

 

After another moment, he took a deep breath, motioned for Kosmo to stay, then rounded the corner and charged the man with a yell. Although Keith was at least 6 inches shorter than the intruder, he was able to overtake the other easily. After successfully knocking the man down, he sat on his chest and pressed the knife to his throat, doing his best to keep his breathing steady. 

 

“Who the  _ fuck  _ are you and why are you in my house?” Keith basically shouts out, body tense. 

 

“W-Wait, please just- I can explain!” The man beneath him yelped out, looking genuinely terrified. Keith pulls the knife away slightly, but still close enough to hurt if need be. 

 

“You have 30 seconds to explain,” Keith says with a stern voice. For the first few seconds, the man is a goldfish, supposedly looking for words where there are none. Keith nudges the knife a little closer. For encouragement, of course. 

 

Finally, the guy blurts out, “I was lost! I- I was wandering through the woods and- Your garage was open so-” 

 

“So you just invited yourself into a strangers home?!” Keith cries, incredulously. He lowers the knife, unable to believe a thief could lie that badly. “Look asshole, I'm going to get up and call the cops; you've broken into my house. And why the fuck aren't you wearing clothes? Where did you even-”

 

_ The wolf.  _

 

Keith jumps up, stumbling over to the garage door and wrenching it open, hoping to find the wolf from last night all curled up on the floor. He was met with gray concrete- no wolf in sight. Whirling around, he stomps towards the guy, who is scrambling back with one arm.  _ “Where's the wolf? What did you do to him?”  _ Keith was seething at this point, angry that this man probably chased that sweet, friendly wolf away. 

 

“N-Nothing! I promise! He- He was already gone when I got here! I swear!” The man rushes out. Keith can see the sweat gathering on his brow.  _ He's lying.  _

 

He presses the knife closer, lips drawn in an almost feral snarl. In all honesty, he was a little too worked up over this; even he could see that. But the thing is - he’s  _ tired.  _ He’s tired, and mourning the loss of the wolf from earlier. To top it all off, he’s in nothing but a pair of briefs and his combat boots that crunched with each step, broken bits of glass having found their way into the horizontal lines under his feet.

 

Keith keeps the knife to the man’s throat for another few moments before sighing and letting his hand fall away from the stranger’s neck. There was no way this guy could win in a fight against him, anyways. The guys’ more bare than Keith, and seems to be down an arm already. The other also seemed to… Radiate fear, as if it were a tangible emotion that Keith could see and touch. And, although his trust of people had already been worn thin many years ago, seeing the truth behind human emotion has always been his strong point. 

 

“Okay,” He starts softly, looking down with a huff before meeting the stranger’s steely eyes once more. “Okay. Let’s start again. Why are you in my house? Are you actually lost? Are- Is someone dangerous chasing you?” It’s rational in Keith’s mind; much better than what he was moments ago, at least. He’s had to hide in a strangers home for safety; he gets it. 

 

The stranger swallows, chest stuttering on a nervous inhale. “I- I  _ am _ hiding from someone but… It’s really complicated. I just-” The cogs turned visibly in the man’s head, searching for words. “I saw your garage was open so I … Walked in and kind of knocked over a glass trying to get some water. It wasn’t very  _ polite _ of me to walk into a stranger’s home but…” Gunmetal eyes turned to meet Keith’s, an almost puppy dog look to them. “I was so cold, and I figured you were sleeping, so…”

 

Keith bites his lip, considering the other’s words. On one hand, there was 220 pounds of pure naked muscle sitting in his kitchen, having welcomed himself into a strangers home; his intentions could most definitely be impure. The other hand though… This man seemed honest, his eyes pleading for somewhere warm and safe to stay. Keith knows well enough what it’s like begging at a stranger’s door for safety, an abuser closing in. A sigh escapes Keith, already knowing this is a battle he’s long lost.

 

“Well, I can’t promise that I can fend off whoever’s chasing you, but you can stay here for the time being,” He stands from where he was basically sitting on the intruder, squinting at the man below him. “But don’t think for a  _ second _ you can take advantage of my hospitality. I will not hesitate to leave your ass outside to freeze.”

 

The bigger man seemed to take the threat very seriously, nodding quickly. “Yeah, no, I mean- Of course.  _ Thank you. _ ” 

 

\----

 

After sweeping up the glass shards strewn across the floor, Keith ventures back to his room to throw on something more than his flimsy underwear and to get something for the bulky stranger. He puts on one of his many pairs of sweatpants and a loose t-shirt before rummaging through all of clothing for at least  _ something _ for this guy. A pair of warm sweats with the cords all the way undone looked like it could fit, and Keith hoped to god they would. Nothing else he had would fit that absolute beefcake. 

 

Walking back out to the kitchen, he frowns slightly. The stranger is still on the floor, laughing as Kosmo licks his face and barking playfully. That was certainly… Odd. As much of a giant puppy his dog is, usually it takes at least a few hours to get to this level of dog giddiness with a stranger. Big Guy notices Keith watching after a few moments, and tries to gently push Kosmo away, a guilty look on his face as if he’d been caught with a hand in the cookie jar. It lasts for a moment before Kosmo goes back to excitedly licking his face, drawing another warm laugh out of the man. 

 

Keith let’s himself relax a little, admiring the sunshiney smile the other man gave the wolf dog. It was cute. Clearing his throat, he whistles twice and Kosmo is immediately at his side, though his butt wiggles a bit with excitement. He tosses the sweatpants at the other, running a hand behind his dog’s ears to calm him. 

 

“You’re… Obviously a lot bigger than I am, so I hope those will fit,” Keith says, turning to busy himself with getting water for the both of them so he won’t ogle the beefy guy. He keeps his face turned away while fabric shifts around behind him.

 

“Thank you,” The guy says earnestly, walking forward a bit to pet at Kosmo some more. “I know letting a strange man into your home wasn’t on your three am agenda.”

 

Keith scoffs, but still hands the other a cup of water. He eagerly drains the water with vigor, seeming to relish in the fact that he’s actually getting some. “Well, most things  _ aren’t  _ on my three am agenda,” He licks his lips, wishing he’d already drained his own cup of water. “If you don’t mind me asking… Who are you running from?”

 

The guy tenses, taking a long breath through his nose before speaking. “Like I said it’s… Hard to explain,” He says softly, setting his glass on the counter before petting Kosmo again. “There are… Really, really bad people chasing me. I don’t really know where they’re coming from. I- I don’t even know where  _ I _ came from… To get here, anyways.”

 

Keith felt himself loosening bit by bit at the story. Sure, it could be all made up, some ploy to get close to a loner living in the woods. What kept Keith believing, though, was the raw sincerity and confusion that dripped from the man’s voice. It’s as if he was experiencing the emotions himself; grief, anger, loss- they all resonated deep inside himself, and he couldn’t help but feel empathetic for the guy.

 

He’d been lost too. He didn’t want to see someone spiral the way he had. 

 

Cautiously, he moved over a rested a comforting hand on the man’s shoulder, rubbing gentle circles. The muscles under his fingers slowly loosened, a sigh coming from the other. “I know what it’s like to feel lost like this,” Keith says with a soft voice, gently petting Kosmo when he came forward for more attention. “You don’t have to tell me everything. You can stay as long as you need; I’m sure Kosmo here likes having you around too.” At the mention of his name, the wolf-dog yips and licks at Keith’s hand. “But,” He starts, turning towards the other. “I  _ do  _ need a name for you.”

 

“Shiro,” The man says immediately, giving Keith another warm smile. “My name is Shiro.”

**Author's Note:**

> hoped you've liked it so far!! will probably update every week, depending on how much love it gets. follow me @zaynewrites on twitter and yell with me about handsome werewolf sheewo
> 
> comments and kudos mean the world to me! updates will come faster if more people give it love lol


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